GDUI President Position Description
Responsibilities and criteria for GDUI President position
The GDUI President must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of an organizational president, in accordance with standard non profit practices and procedures.
The President must be a guide dog user.
The President presides over meetings of the GDUI Board and of the GDUI membership at large. If unable to preside at a particular meeting, the President will inform the First Vice President, in advance, and will appoint a Vice President to preside in his or her place.
The GDUI President shall:
Propose policies and practices to fulfill the mission of GDUI;
Monitor the performance of Directors and Officers;
Ensure that structures and procedures are in place for effective recruitment, training, and evaluation of GDUI board members;
Ensure that structures and procedures are in place for securing the resources required by GDUI;
Propose the creation of committees or task forces as needed;
Appoint chairpersons for committees and task forces;
Serve as an ex-officio member of GDUI committees, with the exception of the Nominating Committee, in compliance with the GDUI Constitution;
Ensure that an agenda is planned in advance for board meetings;
Meet periodically with committee chairpersons to draft meeting agendas and reporting schedules;
Submit various reports to the board and to other stakeholders as necessary;
Perform other duties as defined in the GDUI Constitution, or as needed.
The President's role as an ex-officio member of GDUI committees is to:
Negotiate reporting schedules;
Identify problems and assist the committee chairperson to resolve them;
To bring such matters, if necessary, to the attention of the Board of Directors.
The President presides over meetings of the Board of Directors.
In this capacity, the President:
Chairs meetings according to accepted rules of order;
Encourages all members to participate in discussion;
Facilitates the board’s work of arriving at decisions in an orderly, timely and democratic manner;
Votes as prescribed in the GDUI Constitution.
The President is responsible for ensuring, on behalf of the membership, that the Board of Directors and officers of GDUI:
Are aware of and fulfill their governance responsibilities;
Comply with applicable laws and bylaws;
Conduct board business effectively and efficiently in accordance with standard non profit policies and procedures;
Are accountable for their performance.
The President is accountable to the Board of Directors and GDUI Members as specified in the GDUI Constitution.
The President may delegate specific duties to Board members, committees, the office manager and the webmaster, as appropriate; however, the accountability remains with the President. For this reason, the president may take appropriate action to safeguard the interests of GDUI.
The President’s involvement in the proceedings of the Nominating Committee is specifically limited by the GDUI Constitution, and the President’s accountability, in the specific case of the recommendations or actions of the nominating committee, is accordingly limited.
The GDUI President is the primary liaison between the Board and all GDUI staff. In this capacity, the President:
Meets periodically with these individuals, at least quarterly;
Ensures that annual performance reviews of these staff members are conducted;
Participates in the hiring and evaluation of all staff members (presently: the office manager and the webmaster).
The President ensures that GDUI maintains positive and productive relationships with organizations related to the mission of GDUI, media and donors.
In this capacity, the President serves as primary spokesperson for GDUI, and duties include:
Representing GDUI to the media;
Representing GDUI on governmental or nongovernmental organizations and committees;
Timely and appropriate reporting of Board decisions and actions to members and donors.
The President may be designated by the Board of Directors or by the GDUI constitution as one of the signing officers for certain documents.
In this capacity,
the President may be authorized or required to sign or countersign checks, correspondence, applications, reports, contracts or other documents on behalf of GDUI.
The GDUI President shall not be absent from three consecutive board meetings in any year.
The president, like all GDUI officers, must:
Be a member in good standing of GDUI;
Be willing and able to participate in regularly scheduled meetings and e-mail discussions;
Always act in a dignified manner and interact respectfully with fellow Directors and Officers;
Agree to abide by GDUI's current code of conduct for board members;
Work as a team member to maintain and protect GDUI and its mission;
Become well versed with GDUI's Constitution;
Respect the authority of the GDUI Constitution and work within its guidance and the requirements of the GDUI Articles of Incorporation;
Be a collaborative participant in the democratic process respecting the outcome of votes of the board and of the membership;
Follow through and complete commitment-related tasks in a timely way;
Possess sufficient computer skills to participate in e-mail work;
Be flexible for scheduling meeting times.
(the GDUI Board meets by phone conference bi-monthly for two or more hours, with committee meetings or other special meetings scheduled separately.)